Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Dear Second Amendment Supporter,

We told you about the most anti-gun Republican in the U.S. Senate, Dick Lugar of Indiana.

MSNBC calls Lugar “Obama’s favorite Republican.”

And it’s no wonder; Lugar voted for Obama’s anti-gun Supreme Court nominees, and both the President and the Senator support banning guns.

But don’t take our word for it – listen to what Lugar said when he was running for president in 1996 about his support for the Clinton gun ban.

In this YouTube video, Lugar brags about his vote and implies that supporters of the Second Amendment lack “common sense.” The year the so-call “assault weapons” ban passed, Lugar also received a contribution from leftist George Soros.

Even worse, Lugar supports the global, UN small arms treaty. And if Republicans take back control of the Senate – which is likely in 2012 – Lugar will become chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. You can bet Lugar will pull out all the stops to cram that treaty through the Senate.

Thankfully, this year we have a tremendous opportunity to defeat Lugar.

Richard Mourdock, Indiana’s current State Treasurer, is battling Obama’s favorite Republican in the state’s May 8th Republican primary.

Mourdock is a genuine gun rights supporter. He will oppose the anti-gun agendas of Obama, the UN, and the leaders of either political party. Richard Mourdock has the pro-gun community and grassroots conservatives on his side.

Where Lugar has an advantage is in money, which is pouring in from his liberal allies across the country. In fact, he is already up on TV misleading voters about his record, and he will stay on the air through the primary.

But if gun owners and sportsmen from across the country all chip in a few bucks, while we might not be able to out raise Lugar, we can ensure that Mourdock will have enough to get his message out to the voters.

So check out this 31-second commercial, and then please visit www.richardmourdock.com and click the “Donate Now” button.

Working together, we can send Lugar packing, before he does even more damage to our gun rights.

Thank you for standing with GOA, and for your support of Richard Mourdock.

PS Let’s not let Dick Lugar get away with further eroding our gun rights. Check out this video and then visit www.richardmourdock.com today to make a contribution.

Paid for by Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- In this 1996 ad, Sen. Dick Lugar boasts about his vote for the Clinton gun ban.

Lugar, the most anti-gun Republican in the Senate, is facing Richard Mourdock (www.richardmourdock.com) in a May 2012 primary.

Help educate gin voters on Lugar’s record of infringing on the Second Amendment, like this video and help spread this link around.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Appropriately, it’s Groundhog Day.

Because Attorney General Eric Holder has just testified that he spent another year hiding in a hole, oblivious to what was going on in his department or even what was in his inbox.

In testimony before Darrell Issa’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Holder’s defense was – in the words of one DEMOCRAT -- the “Sergeant Schultz defense”: “I know nooothing!”

This, notwithstanding the fact that there were no fewer than seven memoranda sent to Holder (as early as July, 2010) briefing him on the Fast and Furious Operation, and the fact that his department was intentionally allowing guns to go across the border to Mexican drug cartels.

Those guns have already resulted in the deaths of over 300 Mexican nationals, in addition to U.S. Border Agent Brian Terry.

Yet, Holder smugly asserted that he didn’t have time to read memoranda forwarded to him by his subordinates detailing criminal conduct by his department under his watch. (Never mind Holder’s assertion today that his management style was one that is “hands on.”)

Which leads to this question: Could a hedge fund manager escape culpability by arguing that he didn’t read letters from his subordinates or attorneys warning him of criminal misconduct?

And another thing: What was Eric Holder doing that was so important that the deaths of 300 people didn’t warrant any of his “precious” time?

Let Holder explain to the families of the dead that their lives were trivial because he was so busy promulgating illegal regulations governing multiple gun sales reporting, unlawfully banning shotgun importation, and unconstitutionally justifying non-recess recess appointments.

Holder protested that questioners were “disrespecting” his office. But Holder has dragged his office and his department into the cesspool. The proper response to him is: “Disrespect? What about 300 murdered Mexicans?”

It is time for him to go.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Attorney General Eric Holder is scheduled to appear before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee tomorrow morning to answer for his failed leadership in regard to Operation Fast and Furious.

This operation, which was shepherded by Obama’s Justice Department, has led to thousands of guns being smuggled into Mexico — and to the deaths of two federal agents.

Holder has already been caught in several lies and appears to be digging in his feet even further.

Committee Chairman Darrell Issa will be grilling Holder once again and has threatened the Attorney General with contempt charges if he continues stonewalling.

Issa warned that if the Attorney General continues to obstruct his investigation, “this committee will have no alternative but to move forward with proceedings to hold you in contempt of Congress.”

GOA staff has been working closely with House committee members, and we will be attending the hearings and reporting to you on developments — both public and behind-the-scenes.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The race for the Republican nomination for President is neck and neck. The four remaining candidates are spending millions of dollars tearing each other apart for the chance to take on President Obama in November.

But while all eyes are on the Republican presidential primary, GOA also has to prepare for something that American gun owners don’t even want to think about; the possibility of a second Obama term.

Think about it. A second term for Obama means he will be unencumbered with thoughts about reelection.

His political appointees are already radical gun haters. His future picks will be even worse.

Executive actions, such as illegally requiring gun dealers along southwest border states to report multiple long gun sales, will increase.

And Obama, along with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will ratchet up the pressure on the Senate to ratify a massive UN Small Arms Treaty.

So while a lot of folks just don’t want to think about four more years of Obama, we have to think about it – and prepare for it.

The most important elections will be for the Senate. An Obama reelection, coupled with anti-gunner Harry Reid retaining control of the Senate, would be a disaster for the country. Defeating just four anti-gun Democrats, however, would take the gavel out of Reid’s hands.

GOA already has identified opportunities to pick up pro-gun seats:

• In Florida, a couple of solid candidates are running in a primary to take on Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson.
• Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill, F-rated by GOA, is one of the most endangered Democrat Senators.
• Montana’s Democrat Sen. Jon Tester is facing a tough challenge by GOA A-rated candidate Denny Rehberg.
• Ohio State Treasurer Josh Mandel, a solid Second Amendment advocate, is mounting a vigorous challenge to Sen. Sherrod Brown.
• Retirements in the Democrat-held states of Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Virginia and Wisconsin all represent opportunities to switch seats from anti- to pro-gun.

The key to stopping the radical Obama agenda is to elect as many Second Amendment supporters as possible in the Senate. And this is one of the primary tasks GOA is undertaking over the next nine months.

GOA already has surveyed all the candidates and made several key endorsements. Now’s the time to start contacting gun owners and sportsmen in all the strategic states to spread the word about the best candidates and to make sure all Second Amendment supporters are registered to vote.

We will also be reaching out to the gun rights community over the internet and through mailings. We will spread the word with newspaper, magazine, radio and television advertisements.

Of course, all of these activities cost money. That’s where GOA members come in.

With your help, we will make sure that control of the U.S. Senate does not stay in the hands of Harry Reid – the Senate leader who gave us Attorney General Eric Holder, Supreme Court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, and a host of other anti-gun Obama nominees.

And it’s not just the Senate we’re interested in. GOA will be involved in dozens of House races, gubernatorial elections and state legislative races across the country.

You’ve probably heard people say this is the most important election in our lifetimes. I don’t want to sound like an alarmist, but that’s probably true.

If ever there was a time for the Second Amendment community to join forces against a common foe, it is now.

Help GOA contact hundreds of thousands of gun owners, and send Harry Reid packing.

Sincerely,

PS While gun owners hope that President Obama won’t win reelection, we must prepare for that possibility by helping pro-gunners win as many Senate races as possible. Click here to contribute to GOA’s effort to take the Senate out of Harry Reid’s control.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The Supreme Court yesterday unanimously sided with Gun Owners of America in finding that the placement of a Global Positioning Device on an automobile constitutes a “search” for purposes of the Fourth Amendment.

The majority opinion in U.S. v. Jones was written by Justice Antonin Scalia and follows GOA’s reasoning to throw out the “reasonable expectation of privacy” test which has been thought to be the dominant Fourth Amendment standard in recent years.

The Obama Administration argued that because the police could theoretically follow Antoine Jones’ car, he had no “reasonable expectation of privacy,” and thus, placing a GPS device on his car was justified. GOA argued, however, that this constituted an “unreasonable search and seizure” which violates the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution.

This decision will have dramatic ramifications for gun owners. Indeed, the Court looked to the Founders’ intentions with respect to the Fourth Amendment, which, until the latter part of the 20th Century, was understood to restrict the ability of police to “trespass” upon the persons or property of Americans.

“This is no less than a fundamental transformation of American jurisprudence concerning searches and seizures,” according to GOA’s Executive Director Larry Pratt. “And it is a transformation which throws out fake modern jurisprudence and restores the Founders’ intent.”

The “reasonable expectation of privacy” test flowed from a Justice Harlan concurring opinion in Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347 (1967). Gun Owners of America had argued that the Supreme Court should jettison that decision by an activist court, and a majority of the justices agreed.

“The ‘expectation of privacy’ test for searches and seizures arose without support in the text or historical context of the Fourth Amendment, and has proven wholly inadequate to protect the American people from their government,” argued GOA.

Four members of the court – led by Samuel Alito, and joined by Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Elena Kagan – argued for the continuation of the “reasonable expectation of privacy test,” but concluded that planting a GPS device on a car for 28 days constituted a Fourth Amendment “search” under that standard as well.

The Obama administration, which had argued that planting a GPS device on a car was not a “search” under the Harlan standard, was unanimously repudiated by the High Court. And the case is being cited by the mainstream media as a defeat for Obama and his Justice Department, which is led by Attorney General Eric Holder.

Said Pratt: “This is yet another failure by Eric Holder, the most corrupt and incompetent Attorney General in the history of the Republic.”

Gun Owners would like to thank its activists for their support. Your contributions helps GOA to assist in future cases like this at the Supreme Court.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Senate Legislation, Could, Shut Down, Gun Websites

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- By now, you are no doubt aware that several websites have either gone totally or partially “dark” today in protest of the pernicious internet legislation that will be coming to a vote next week. Wikipedia and Google are just two of the websites which are protesting in this manner.

And while you may have not paid much attention to this story, you need to know that the “muzzle the web” legislation these sites are protesting could also affect your ability to get gun-related information on websites like GOA’s.

The reason is that S. 968 could, in its final form, allow the Brady Campaign to partially shut down our GOA website and our organization (plus many other pro-gun websites) with a series of factually accurate, but legally frivolous complaints.

The Senate bill and its House counterpart have accurately been called “a direct attack on the underpinnings of the web.”

True, many of the most serious “gun problems” are in the House counterpart. But the reality is this: We are within a few votes of killing the whole concept next week in the Senate with only 41 Senate votes.

But if we allow the so-called “anti-piracy” bill to go forward on the HOPE that the worst provisions will not make it into the final version -– and we fail to eliminate them -– the bill may be unstoppable.

Here are the “gun problems,” as we see them:
Section 103(b)(1) of H.R. 3261 allows any “holder of an intellectual property right” to demand that PayPal and other payment and advertising services stop providing services to organizations like ours, thereby shutting off our income.

How would they do this? Perhaps by arguing that we were stealing their intellectual property by quoting their lying misrepresentations in our alerts.

Is this legally frivolous? Sure it is. But the Brady Campaign is the King of Frivolous Complaints:

• Remember when the Brady Campaign asked the Federal Election Commission in 2007 to shut down GOA’s ability to post its candidate ratings on the Internet? They claimed that we were in violation of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform Act. Thankfully, the FEC ruled in GOA’s favor, thus enabling us to continue posting candidate ratings without restraint.
• Remember when the Brady Campaign got 36 state and local jurisdictions to bring frivolous lawsuits against gun manufacturers –- not in the expectation of winning, but to drain the resources of the manufacturers in order to halt the manufacture of guns in America?

This “muzzle the web” legislation will throw the doors open to even more frivolous complaints. Could we defend ourselves? Yes, we could. We could file a counter notification under section 103(b)(5) and spend years defending ourselves. But the one thing we did learn during the 36 frivolous lawsuits is that the anti-gun forces in America have very deep pockets.

And the other problem is that, under section 104, our Internet providers would be insulated from liability for shutting us down. But they would receive no comparable insulation from legal liability if they refused to cut us off.

The Senate version, S. 968, has been amended, at the behest of Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley and others, to provide many protections which were not in its initial form.

Under section 3, the Attorney General would go to court and would have to claim that, because of a hyperlink to an offending site, we were “primarily” engaged in the theft of intellectual property.

We would feel a lot better about these protections if the Attorney General were not Eric Holder, a ruthless ideologue who has demonstrated that he will go to any lengths to destroy the Second Amendment.

So the bottom line is this: H.R. 3261 and S. 968 would potentially empower the Brady Campaign and Eric Holder to go after our Internet site. To do so, they would have to make the same frivolous arguments and engage in the same lawless activity that they have done so often in the past.

But -– given that we’re within a few votes of snuffing out that risk by killing the bill in the Senate -– we believe it’s the better course of action to do so.

ACTION: Click here to contact your Senators. Ask them to vote against S. 968, every chance they get.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Orrin Hatch Fighting Two Pro-gun Challengers in Re-Election Efforts

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Two pro-gun conservatives recently announced they were running against Utah Senator Orrin Hatch.

This is welcome news for gun owners. In a Senate career that has lasted more than thirty five years, Hatch has not been a particularly good friend of the Second Amendment.

During negotiations over the 1986 McClure-Volkmer Firearms Owners Protection Act – designed to protect gun owners from abuses of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms -- Hatch sat at the negotiating table next to officials of the ATF and argued against the pro-gun positions of Sen. Jim McClure.

Though a senior member of the Senate, Hatch did nothing to block camels-nose legislation slammed through by Republican leader Bob Dole in the late 1980s to regulate armor-piercing bullets and outlaw non-existent “plastic guns.”

As ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1993-4, Hatch refused to filibuster the Brady Law, even though it would have been possible to kill it.

He supported the 1996 Lautenberg amendment to impose a lifetime gun ban on people guilty of “domestic misdemeanors” – a term so amorphous that it could apply to spanking your kid or engaging in a verbal argument.

In the wake of the Columbine shooting, Hatch voted for amendments which would have effectively banned gun shows, made it more difficult to keep a loaded gun in your home for self-defense, and codified the Bush-era semi-auto import ban.

This package of legislation was stopped in a conference committee only after Hatch and others were pummeled relentlessly by tens of thousands of GOA activists.

In 2007, Hatch supported the Veterans Disarmament Act—which could strip the Second Amendment rights of honorably discharged veterans who seek professional counseling following traumatic wartime experiences.

Over the following two years, while GOA was working with pro-gun Senators to repeal the gun ban in national parks, Hatch voted against repeal before voting for it in 2009.

Last year, Hatch opposed an amendment offered by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to exempt gun buyer information from the Obama administration’s virtually unlimited ability to seize “business records” under the reauthorization of post-9/11 legislation.

Sen. Hatch hasn’t exactly stood up to the Obama administration, either. He voted in favor of regulatory “czar” Cass Sunstein, who favors a ban on hunting and who would grant animals legal protections in court.

And, despite repeated pleas from GOA members, he voted to confirm Eric Holder as Attorney General. In addition to being mired in the Fast and Furious scandal, Holder was the point man on gun control for President Bill Clinton and is a vocal supporter of banning many semiautomatic firearms.

Thankfully, Orrin Hatch is facing a serious challenge in this year’s Republican convention.

Former State Senator Dan Liljenquist is a stalwart pro-gun conservative who understands the dangers of compromising with the likes of President Obama.

And State Rep. Chris Herrod also jumped in the race because, he said, “we don’t have much time to fix our challenges” as a nation. Both Herrod and Liljenquist are “A” rated on gun rights issues.

The candidates will face off in the state Republican convention in April. If no candidate receives more than 60 percent of the delegate votes, the top two vote-getters will run in a June primary.

Gun Owners of America welcomes the challenge to a Senator with a long history of compromising on Second Amendment rights.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ) recently introduced a resolution expressing “no confidence” in the Attorney General of the United States for his role in the Fast and Furious scandal.

Attorney General Eric Holder has been hauled before Congress multiple times to explain a government operation that led to thousands of firearms going to violent drug cartels in Mexico, and which have turned up at crime scenes on both sides of the border.

Holder initially denied knowing about the operation before admitting that “mistakes” were made, yet he remains uncooperative with Congress’s efforts to get to the bottom of the gunrunning scheme.

The Department of Justice provided some carefully selected information to the House Judiciary Committee, but nothing that would reveal who authorized the multi-million dollar, multi-agency, international operation.

There are “materials we have not and will not produce,” Holder said defiantly in testimony before the committee last month.

In fact, no one within the Department of Justice is being held accountable for approving the operation. Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI) told Holder during the December hearing that bureaucrats have put the wagons “in a pretty tight circle.”

“The American people need the truth,” added Rep. Sensenbrenner. “They haven’t gotten the truth from what has been coming out of the Justice Department in the last year.”

Holder’s refusal to provide any information regarding who is responsible for Fast and Furious has led many lawmakers to suspect that the Attorney General himself was intimately involved in the operation from the start.

The Gosar resolution sends a strong message to the Justice Department that the government’s reckless disregard of the law will not be tolerated. It will also help to raise public awareness of a misguided government operation that has contributed to the deaths of two U.S. law enforcement officers and some 200 Mexicans.

“It is imperative that the citizens of our nation have confidence in our Attorney General,” Congressman Gosar said in a statement. “After months of evasive answers, silence and outright lies it is time that Congress speak up on behalf of the many people who have or will fall victims to the firearms in the flawed gunrunning operation Fast and Furious.”

GOA, which is rallying Congress to use every means available to hold the government accountable for wrongdoing in Fast and Furious, applauds Rep. Gosar for authoring this resolution.

Click here to contact your own Representative today and urge him or her to cosponsor House Resolution 490, stating that Congress has “lost confidence” in the Attorney General.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Vote Pro Gun

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Happy New Year from all of us at Gun Owners of America

And we would also like to extend best wishes to Indiana State Treasurer Richard Mourdock, who is challenging anti-gun Senator Richard Lugar in next year’s Republican primary.

Dick Lugar is without a doubt the most anti-gun Republican in the U.S. Senate.

He voted in favor of President Obama’s two picks for the Supreme Court -- Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan – who deny the existence of an individual right to bear arms.

• Lugar voted against repealing the gun bans in national parks and in Washington D.C.
• He voted in favor of waiting periods for handgun purchases and he supports banning many semi-automatic firearms.
• And Lugar was the only Republican Senator to refuse to sign a letter opposing a massive UN small arms treaty.

As you can imagine, Dick Lugar is one of the anti-gunners’ best friends in the Senate.

Gun Owners for Mourdock
Richard Mourdock is a 100% gun rights supporter who will come to Washington to protect and defend the Second Amendment rights of all Americans.

Mourdock, a licensed pilot who was successful in the private sector for over 30 years before running for office, understands that gun ownership is a fundamental, individual liberty that must be safeguarded in a free society.

I encourage all gun owners and sportsmen to stand with Richard Mourdock in this important primary election. We also want to show Lugar and his Washington cronies that Richard Mourdock has the support of grassroots gun owners.

So please make the most generous contribution you can by clicking here. A strong finish in 2011 will help to give Richard Mourdock momentum heading into the May primary.

Thank you for your support of GOA, and for your support of Richard Mourdock. Together we can defeat the most anti-gun Republican Senator in Washington.

P.S. The year end campaign finance reports are an important marker for candidates, so thank you for considering a contribution before the New Year. Also, “like” Richard on Facebook and thank him for his support of the Second Amendment.

Paid for by Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Steve Daines and daughter Caroline in Eastern MT

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Dear Friend of the Second Amendment,

I hope you are enjoying this holiday season. Even as we reflect on the blessings of the past year, GOA is preparing for major battles in the crucial election year of 2012.

One of the most important elections is taking place in Montana, where Steve Daines is running for the state’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Mr. Daines is a fifth generation Montanan, a successful businessman (an actual job creator) and an avid firearms enthusiast and sportsman.

I first interviewed Steve over the summer, after he had scored a perfect grade on the GOA survey. I’ve since spent time getting to know Steve and his wife of 24 years, Cindy, and I can tell you he’ll be a true warrior in the battle over the Second Amendment.

And based on what’s going on in Washington, we need people like him in Congress. Many members of Congress claim to support the right to keep and bear arms, but then go soft when they get pressured by their anti-gun colleagues, President Obama and the media.

Just this past year, following the shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, we’ve seen Republicans and Democrats alike attempt to pass gun control laws in an effort to “do something” about crime. And once again, the response to a shooting was to restrict the rights of the millions of Americans who had nothing to do with the violent act.

You and I know that “feel good” legislation restricting our gun rights only make us less safe, but that doesn’t stop the gun control crowd. And that’s why it’s important to elect strong allies who, once elected, can be relied upon to stand firm for our gun rights.

Steve Daines is that kind of person. He understands that law-abiding gun owners are part of the solution to crime in America, not part of the problem. Steve is a man of principle who will not support the Second Amendment one day, and then vote with Nancy Pelosi the next.

Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund is proud to stand with Steve Daines for Congress, and we urge gun owners and sportsmen throughout the country to get behind this campaign as well. Once he’s elected, he’ll be battling for the Second Amendment rights of all Americans.

You also know that it takes a lot of money to run a successful campaign on television and radio, and the end of the year financial reporting is a particularly important time for Steve’s campaign.

So please consider making a year-end contribution to this pro-gun champion by clicking here.

Thank you for standing with Steve Daines and on behalf of your friends at Gun Owners of America, have a happy and safe New Year.

P.S. After you visit Steve Daine’s website, don’t forget to “Like” him on Facebook, too.

Paid for by Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

GOA's Tim Macy (left) reviews gun rights survey with presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich...

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Gun Owners of America has sent a Second Amendment Questionnaire to every Presidential candidate for this election year.

We’ve gotten them back from several of the candidates — even Newt Gingrich, after I met with him earlier this month to ask why he hadn’t sent his back. But we haven’t received one from either Rick Perry or Mitt Romney.

The fact that Romney is not getting his questionnaire back is understandable, since he has been all over the map on gun ownership. Recently he’s sounding pro-gun, but his history is anything but that.

Rick Perry, however, has a solid record on the Second Amendment as Governor of Texas, so why isn’t he getting his questionnaire back to GOA? I have to believe this is a campaign staff decision, which is a bad decision at best. Perry already has a good record, so why not fill it out so we can know where he stands on issues specific to the presidency?

Newt Gingrich was far from perfect on the Second Amendment when he was Speaker of the House, and he still falters on background checks, but at least he gave GOA his answers and signed our questionnaire. You have to respect him for that.

I have personally had contact four times with Perry staff who all said they would get it done and back to GOA right away, but so far it’s been lip service and no questionnaire.

Bottom line — come on Rick, send GOA a completed and signed questionnaire so gun owners across the country can get a more complete picture of your views.

Please encourage Rick Perry to return the GOA questionnaire by calling 1-855-887-5627.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- “In the 35 years since its foundation, the GOA has maintained its staunch opposition to any form of gun control, often taking a harder stand than the NRA.” — Ben Garrett, award-winning journalist, newspaper editor and blogger

With your help, Gun Owners of America was able to accomplish quite a bit in 2011. We thank you for your support, which makes this announcement  possible.

As we approach the Christmas holidays, we certainly have a lot to be thankful for.

Here’s a partial list of what we accomplished together this year:

January

• * One of the first acts of the Congress in 2011 was to read the Constitution aloud, for the first time in history, on the floor of the United States House of Representatives. Virginia Rep. Bob Goodlatte led the effort in the House and credited GOA for helping make it happen.

“I want to thank Gun Owners of America for early support of the idea to read the U.S. Constitution on the House floor and for taking the lead to rally the grassroots in support of the Read the Constitution effort,” Goodlatte said.

Of course, reading the Constitution is one thing, abiding by it is another. And that is a battle GOA brings to Capitol Hill on a daily basis.

• *GOA began a year-long effort to call attention to Fast and Furious. This operation that was run out of the Justice Department helped criminals buy guns “legally” from American gun stores -­ with the hopes that the ensuing violence would drive calls for more gun control.

February – March

• * GOA began warning its activists that anti-gun Democrats might try to attach gun control restrictions on a bill to reauthorize funding the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration). These proposals included a ban on high capacity magazines; restrictions that would end gun shows; and, potentially, a provision stripping millions of gun owners of their rights by placing them on “watch lists” without any due process of law.

GOA worked on the Hill by putting pro-gun amendments into the hands of certain Senators. Our efforts to counter these disastrous proposals with pro-gun initiatives backed the gun grabbers into a comer and stymied their plans.

• *GOA and its activists won temporary victories when the House voted to repeal the anti-gun ObamaCare law and to adopt the Boren-Rehberg amendment — which would defund ATF’s latest gun registry.

Gun Owners of America contacted every member of the House of Representatives prior to winning the votes on ObamaCare and Boren-Rehberg. Sadly, both of these victories were temporary, as the Democrat Senate refused to go along.

• * GOA began a national campaign to defeat restrictive legislation introduced by New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D). Her bill, HR 308, would resurrect the ban on high capacity magazines which passed during the Clinton administration — but later sunset in 2004. (GOA will spend the year mobilizing gun owners against this threat, and can thankfully report that, by year’s end, her bill has remained bottled up in committee.)

April-May

• * After President Obama nominated Goodwin Liu to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, GOA worked hard to alert Senators to his extreme, anti-gun record. Like many radical progressives, Liu believes that while our Second Amendment rights might have been necessary in the 1700s, they are no longer needed today. Thanks, in large part, to Liu’s radical views on the Second Amendment, his nomination was narrowly defeated.

• * Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) tied the Senate in knots for more than a week fighting for a GOA ­backed amendment which would have protected 4473’s and other gun records from blanket searches by the ATF under the so-called PATRIOT Act.

Because many leaders in his own party refused to back him, Sen. Paul was not successful this time, but he put a marker down that gun rights would not be violated without a fight from the pro-gun community.

Sen. Paul thanked “Gun Owners of America for their strong support of my amendment to protect the privacy of gun owners.”

June – August

• * GOA activated its grassroots members in opposition to S. 679, the Cover-up Protection Act — a bill that would exempt hundreds of federal appointees from Senate confirmation, thus allowing the President to stack his administration with flaming anti-gunners.

This battle underscored the power of the grassroots — and the effect that phone calls and emails can have upon their elected officials. After hearing from thousands upon thousands of GOA’s activists, Capitol Hill staffers confided to GOA that key Senators reversed course and decided to add amendments which would require the most important Presidential appointments to still be approved by the Senate.

• * The crescendo over the Operation Fast and Furious debacle continued to build. Dubbed as Obama’s Watergate, Fast and Furious highlights the extent that his corrupt administration will go to demonize gun owners. GOA has spent the first half of the year educating the media and the grassroots over Fast and Furious — and for its part, CBS and Fox News lead the media in covering this fiasco.

September

• * GOA began to energize its grassroots in favor of concealed carry reciprocity bill introduced by Georgia Rep. Paul Broun. His bill (HR 2900) will allow law-abiding gun owners to carry out­ of-state without requiring them to possess a concealed carry permit in the state they are visiting.
• *Gun Owners of America briefed an important case before the U.S. Supreme Court earlier in the year — and, in September, we won! The Court handed down its decision in Bond v. United States, where the U.S. government had made a “federal case” out of a domestic dispute involving a Pennsylvania woman who injured her neighbor.

There was absolutely no reason why the federal government should have been prosecuting Carol Bond, as opposed to the local authorities. So GOA got involved with the intent to help drive the federal government back into the parameters as outlined in the Constitution — a result which will, most definitely, benefit gun owners.

October- November

• * In late October, GOA began pressing hard for congressmen to start petitioning for Eric Holder’s resignation. Within a week, the number of Representatives calling for Holder’s resignation rose to more than two dozen — and the number has since doubled to more than four dozen.
• * The Obama Administration issued regulations earlier this year requiring agencies to lie to the public under certain circumstances. GOA alerted its grassroots in October to these regs and urged Congress to defund the administration’s ability to enforce them. The Administration pulled the regulations within the week.
• * In November, Gun Owners Foundation won a Supreme Court case in defense of a gun owner in Virginia. Russell Ernest Smith had been wrongfully convicted of “willfully and intentionally” making a false statement on his 4473 form when purchasing a firearm. But GOF believed that the government’s argument against Smith was specious.

So Gun Owners Foundation prepared its amicus brief and submitted it on behalf of Mr. Smith. GOF was the only group making the case that Smith’s conviction should be overturned. After waiting several months for the verdict, the Virginia Supreme Court announced its verdict … and Smith emerged victorious.

What’s both interesting and exciting in this case is that, in overturning Smith’s conviction, the judges used an argument that GOF had made — an argument which his own lawyer did not even make. GOF is clearly making an impact upon the courts in defense of gun owners’ rights!

• * Concealed carry reciprocity legislation passed on the floor of the House by a 272-154 vote. Representatives had two bills to choose from — although the weaker bill passed. The battle now moves to the Senate, where GOA will work to amend the legislation with the provisions of HR 2900, the “constitutional carry” friendly bill.

December

• * GOA worked hard this year to stall (or defeat) the nomination of anti-gun judges. One of Obama’s picks who stalled out was Caitlin Halligan, a judicial nominee with a history of anti­gun activism. But with most of the nation focusing its attention on the upcoming holidays, GOA had to call the troops into battle after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tried to ram through Halligan’s confirmation in early December.
• * The response of Gun Owners of America members to the GOA alert was overwhelming and played an important role in defeating the confirmation of Halligan. On the Hill, Gun Owners of America briefed Senate offices right up to the time of the vote about the danger of confirming Halligan. Thankfully, in a procedural maneuver known as a “cloture vote,” Reid fell six votes short of getting the needed votes to move the nomination forward for a final vote.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund is pleased to announce the endorsement of Jackie Walorski for Congress in Indiana’s Second District.

Jackie stands 100% in favor of the rights of gun owners, something she proved time and again during her time in the state legislature.

As a state representative, Jackie has never wavered in her support of the Second Amendment. Jackie coauthored and helped to pass Indiana’s lifetime concealed carry permit legislation, the first law of its kind in the nation.

A firm believer that citizens have the right to protect themselves inside and outside of the home, she also cosponsored Indiana’s Castle Doctrine bill to protect the right of citizens to act in self defense in the face of a violent attack—whether it occurs in the home, in a car or on the streets.

Jackie understands the dangers of compromising principle, and she is committed to fighting against any effort in Congress that will infringe on the right to keep and bear arms. Her views of the Second Amendment are consistent with those of the Founding Fathers and with the majority of Hoosier State voters.

“What sets us apart as a nation is our ability to protect ourselves,” says the South Bend native. “We don’t live in a police state. We don’t live in a place where only the military and the police officers have weapons. This nation was grounded and founded on individuals’ right to protect themselves.”

In the last election, Jackie ran against incumbent Rep. Joe Donnelly and came within one point of victory. Instead of facing Walorski again in a more Republican district, Donnelly opted to run statewide. This is now one of the best opportunities in the country for gun owners to gain a true friend in Congress.

Jackie Walorski is a candidate all gun owners —both inside and outside of Indiana— should stand with both financially and with their volunteer efforts. Please visit https://donate.standwithjackie.com/goa today and let’s work together to elect this pro-gun champion.

Sincerely,

Paid for by Gun Owners of America Political Action Committee. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The government’s “gun walking” scandal heated up a Capitol Hill hearing this week.

Attorney General Eric Holder appeared before the House Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing on the Department of Justice, but Operation Fast and Furious dominated the discussion.

Holder, as he has already done numerous times in testimony before Congress, continued his practice of stonewalling and deflecting blame for the failed scheme that led to thousands of firearms “walking” across the border into Mexico and into the hands of violent drug cartels.

Committee members grilled Holder on misleading Congress, not dealing appropriately with the individuals who called the shots on Fast and Furious and, even worse, for using the guns that the government allowed to “walk” to Mexico as an excuse for greater gun control in the U.S.

Fast and Furious Leading to More Gun Control
From his opening statement, Rep. Daryl Issa (R-CA), a chief congressional investigator looking into Fast and Furious, made clear that gun control, not crime control, is really the main objective of the Obama administration.

Rep. Issa pointed to recent ATF regulations to register many long-gun purchasers in southwest border states:

The idea that regulations, without any approval of Congress, to create databases in the southwestern states…clearly shows that, in fact, this administration is more interested in building databases, more interested in talking about gun control than actually controlling [the Fast and Furious guns].

Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ), a strong ally of gun owners, further pressed the point, assuring Holder that:

If the American people learned that the motivations for [Fast and Furious] was somehow to make a case to deprive them of their Second Amendment rights or to make a case to further the Department’s ability to further regulate gun rights within the United States, that would make them very angry.

Rep. Franks went on to read from an email between Mark Chait, ATF Field Operations Assistant Director, and Bill Newell, ATF’s Phoenix Special Agent in Charge of Fast and Furious. Chait wrote:

Bill – can you see if these guns were all purchased from the same [licensed gun dealer] and at one time. We are looking at anecdotal cases to support a demand letter on long gun multiple sales. Thanks.

The demand letter Chait was referring to is a regulation (which is in violation of federal laws protecting gun owners’ privacy) requiring more than 8,500 firearms dealers in four states to report multiple sales of long guns to the ATF.

In other words, the Justice Department helped to create a huge mess, and is now seeking more authority to regulate firearms to clean it up. At the same time, the Department has taken no action to hold anyone accountable within the government.

No Accountability at ATF
Rep. Ted Poe (R-TX) questioned the Attorney General about holding specific people responsible for the government’s actions.

“Who is the person in the United States government that made the decision…to facilitate the guns going to Mexico,” Rep. Poe asked Holder, who claimed not to know.

After the hearing, Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren brought up that question to committee member Steve King (R-IA).

“Whoever was so stupid to authorize this operation…is still sitting there with the Justice Department because no one will tell us who the one is with such flawed judgment,” Van Susteren said.

King replied that, “If Eric Holder will not identify that person or answer that question, you have to wonder if Eric Holder isn’t the person.”

Holder remains defiant, and has rebuffed calls to step down or to fire those involved.

GOA Petitions Congress to Get ATF off the Backs of Gun Owners
President Obama and his Attorney General are clearly going after American gun owners, and they will stop at nothing to achieve their goal of more gun control.

Eric Holder should be fired immediately for his mishandling of Fast and Furious, and then further investigated for possible criminal wrongdoing.

But there needs to be more done, which is why GOA is urging Congress to take firearms out of the ATF’s jurisdiction.

The Fast and Furious scandal is not an isolated incident, but just the latest in a long string of abuses by the agency. As far back as 1982, a Senate committee noted that ATF “has trampled upon the second amendment by chilling the exercise of the right to keep and bear arms by law-abiding citizens.”

But even in light of its many documented abuses, the agency has continued to grow in its budget, personnel, and mission.

This rogue, unconstitutional agency is dedicated to infringing on Americans’ fundamental right to keep and bear arms. And left unchecked, they will regulate it right out of existence.

If you haven’t already signed the petition, please do it today. Citing a long string of agency abuses, it asks the Congress to exercise its constitutional authority to get the ATF out of the firearms business. The petition goes directly to your Representative and two Senators.

The ATF has abused the rights of gun owners for far too long. If enough Americans make their voices heard, we can do away with this unconstitutional agency.

So please, click here to sign the petition today, and then help spread the word.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The congressional investigation into the gunrunning scandal known as Fast and Furious is in full swing this week, with the House Judiciary Committee to hold a round of hearings on Thursday.

More and more reporters in the mainstream media are now taking a closer look at the scandal, which GOA first began alerting members to in January. Under the program, thousands of guns purchased with federal tax dollars were allowed to “walk” into Mexico, at which point they disappeared into the hands of violent drug cartels.

Just this week, the New York Times reported that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) is involved in an enormous, multi-million dollar money laundering scheme aimed, like Fast and Furious, at Mexican drug cartels.

But neither program has resulted in significant arrests (not to mention convictions) of drug kingpins, and no cartels have been brought down after several years of activities by agencies spread across the federal bureaucracy.

One former DEA official expressed frustration to the Times, noting that, “My rule was that if we are going to launder money, we better show results. Otherwise, the D.E.A. could wind up being the largest money launderer in the business, and that money results in violence and deaths.”

This news infuriated Rep. Darrell Issa, the powerful chairman of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee, who announced that his investigation will be expanding to include the activities of the DEA “money-running” scandal.

In a blistering letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, Rep. Issa takes Holder to task for arming drug cartels with thousands of firearms, and bankrolling their operations with millions of American taxpayer dollars —perhaps, even hundreds of millions of dollars.

Issa wrote to Holder that the DEA revelation “again calls your leadership into question. The managerial structure you have implemented lacks appropriate operational safeguards to prevent the implementation of such dangerous schemes. The consequences have been disastrous.”

With every news report, more and more information leaks out from a Justice Department that seems intent on stonewalling and misleading the Congress. GOA is keeping the pressure on congressmen to call for Holder’s resignation and to pursue possible criminal wrongdoing by government bureaucrats.

GOA leaders will be attending Thursday’s hearing and will be briefing the media on this burgeoning scandal.

It is also important to continue to remind the politicians that, according to the testimony of many current and former ATF officials, one of the goals of Fast and Furious was to bolster the case for more gun control laws here at home.

As you can see, December in Washington is turning into a lobbying blitz. Please help GOA keep up the pressure in defense of the Second Amendment.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Anti-Gun Judicial Nominee Caitlin Halligan

An appeal was made yesterday in Gun Rights Examiner for gun owners to contact their senators and oppose confirmation based on the nominee’s anti-gun track record. At the time the report was filed, Gun Owners of America had put out an alert requesting this action. Later in the day, the National Rifle Association released a letter it had sent to the Senate opposing Halligan.

Continue reading on Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/republicans-block-halligan-confirmation

About David Codrea:
David Codrea is a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He is a field editor for GUNS Magazine, and a blogger at The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance. Read more at www.examiner.com/gun-rights-in-national/david-codrea

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The response of Gun Owners of America members to Monday’s alert was overwhelming and played an important role in defeating the confirmation of Caitlin Halligan, a judicial nominee with a history of anti-gun activism.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tried to ram through Halligan’s confirmation on Tuesday afternoon. In a procedural maneuver known as a “cloture vote,” Reid needed 60 votes to move the nomination forward for a final vote, but was defeated 54-45.

Halligan, a former solicitor general in New York, was a leading advocate for bankrupting the firearms industry through the use of frivolous lawsuits.

Her confirmation to the D.C. Court of Appeals, commonly referred to as the second most important court in the country, would have been particularly troubling because that court is often viewed as a steppingstone to the U.S. Supreme Court. If a seat were to open up on the High Court next year, President Obama would have been able to call on the Senate to simply approve Halligan once more.

Gun Owners of America briefed Senate offices right up to the time of the vote of the danger of confirming Halligan.

All Republicans voted against Halligan except for Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who voted in favor of the nominee, and Orrin Hatch of Utah, who voted Present.

Every Democrat voted in lock-step with Obama and Reid.

Even as the holidays approach, the lobbying in Washington is non-stop. If you would like to help GOA keep up the pressure in defense of the Second Amendment, please consider a contribution.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- With the help of tons of emails from Gun Owners of America members that poured into the Senate earlier this year, a gun-hating Obama judicial nominee had been kept from coming to the floor for a vote.

But thanks to good old Harry Reid, who likes to pretend he supports gun rights, that nominee is coming up for a vote on Tuesday.

Using his power as Majority Leader, Senator Reid made a procedural move last week to force a vote on Caitlin Halligan, formerly the solicitor general of New York and an avid leader in the effort to destroy firearms manufacturers using frivolous litigation.

Reid scheduled the on Halligan vote for this Tuesday, December 6. Consider it an early Christmas present for his anti-gun pals.

Halligan’s public hatred for firearms was only matched by her zealotry inside the courtroom.

Gun Owners of America began in February briefing Senate members on the dangers of confirming Halligan to a seat on the D.C. Court of Appeals — sometimes called the second highest court in the land.

As New York’s solicitor general, Halligan was one of the chief lawyers responsible for New York’s baseless and politically motivated efforts to bankrupt gun manufacturers using frivolous litigation. In so doing, Halligan proved that she places liberal political activism above fealty to the law.

Halligan’s public hatred for firearms was only matched by her zealotry inside the courtroom. In a speech on May 5, 2003, Halligan called for “handgun manufacturers [to be held] liable for criminal acts committed with handguns.”

Certainly, no other manufacturer of another item – whether it be cars, baseball bats, or anything else – would be held liable for the criminal misuse of its product. And, as Halligan well knows, the application of that principle to firearms would surely eliminate the manufacture of firearms in America.

After attempts of legal extortion of the firearms industry were repudiated by a bipartisan vote in Congress, Halligan’s office did not let up on attacking gun rights, signing a brief calling for New York courts to declare the federal Gun Makers’ Protection Act unconstitutional.

Finally, Halligan, in written testimony submitted to the Senate in connection with her nomination, attempted to conceal the extent of her anti-gun animus.

Halligan’s failure to provide information that would clarify her statements, thus keeping her testimony from being misleading, constitutes “fraud” against the Senate. As such, the only role she should play in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals is the role of a defendant.

But, of course, none of this matter to Harry Reid. He already did his part getting two strident anti-gun Obama judges onto the Supreme Court, and now he’s doing what he can to pack the Appeals Courts with radical leftists as well.

We have to stop this Reid/Obama court-packing scheme. Please act now, as the vote is scheduled for this Tuesday.

Click here to send your Senators a prewritten email message.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Birds of a feather sure do flock together.

So it’s no surprise that the country’s most anti-gun Republican mayor, Michael Bloomberg, invited the U.S. Senate’s most anti-gun Republican member up to his New York City residence for cocktails and a fund raiser next Monday.

Senator Dick Lugar of Indiana never met a gun control bill he didn’t like, and his F-rating from GOA is well-deserved.

Bloomberg, of course, founded the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Bloomberg, conveniently, thinks virtually all guns should be illegal. So MAIG is simply yet another gun prohibition organization.

While Bloomberg and Lugar may get along fine, his Republican primary opponent, Richard Moudock, is reaching out to gun owners throughout the state.

The Indiana Republican primary for senate is one of the most important races in the country for gun owners, and we don’t have to wait around for November to hand the anti-gunners a massive defeat.

The May 8th primary features two candidates who are diametrically opposed on the Second Amendment:

• Dick Lugar does not agree that the Second Amendment protects an individual right.
• Richard Mourdock believes the message of the Second Amendment is clear: “shall not be infringed” is a restriction on federal power to regulate gun ownership.
• Dick Lugar doesn’t trust the people with firearms, so he supports banning semi-automatic rifles that he erroneously calls “assault weapons.”
• Richard Mourdock understands that gun bans don’t stop criminals, but only hamper the ability of law-abiding citizens to defend themselves.
• Dick Lugar believes you should submit to a waiting period before you purchase a handgun, hence “enjoying” a little time to “cool off.”
• Richard Mourdock believes that it’s the Congress that should “cool off” and stop passing bill after bill that ignores the Constitution.
• Perhaps worst of all, Dick Luger supports UN efforts to pass the small arms treaty, a treaty that could impact every gun owner in America. Dick Lugar was the ONLY Republican Senator NOT to come out in opposition to the treaty.
• Richard Mourdock will never vote to hand over any authority to the UN.

This Senate election is particularly important in the event that Barack Obama manages to win another term. If Obama is reelected, Dick Lugar means one more vote for anti-gun Supreme Court justices, the small arms treaty and other anti-gun legislation.

The choice for Senator could not be more clear.

Make no mistake, however, Dick Lugar will be hard to beat. He’ll have almost unlimited money pouring in from the party establishment in Washington, and he’ll be calling in favors everywhere.

But Lugar can be defeated with the help of tens of thousands of gun owners and sportsmen from across the country.

Richard Mourdock, currently the State Treasurer of Indiana, is virtually tied with Lugar in the polls. This is our chance to defeat a politician who has been a thorn in the side of gun owners for more than three decades.

So please visit Richard Mourdock on the web at www.richardmourdock.com and chip in a few bucks to help his campaign. Lugar is spending millions of dollars, so please do all you can to help the Mourdock campaign go toe-to-toe with Lugar.

We don’t have to wait until next November to start beating the anti-gunners. Please help to get things rolling in Indiana today!

Sincerely,

Tim Macy
Vice Chairman

P.S. Dick Lugar has been voting against gun rights for more than 30 years. His opponent, Richard Mourdock earned the support of GOA-PVF for his strong stance for your gun rights. Please visit Richard online today to make a financial contribution.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

“My fellow Americans, let us keep this Thanksgiving Day sacred. Let us thank God for the bounty and goodness of our nation. And as a measure of our gratitude, let us rededicate ourselves to the preservation of this: the land of the free and the home of the brave.” — Ronald Reagan, Thanksgiving Address (1985)

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Calls increase for Holder’s ouster

The opposition continues to reverberate inside the Beltway, as more than 50 congressmen — and one Presidential candidate — are now demanding that Attorney General Eric Holder resign.

Gov. Rick Perry became the first presidential candidate to call for Holder’s ouster. Pointing to the Fast & Furious debacle, Gov. Rick Perry said this week that, “It is high time for Mr. Holder to step down. If he refuses to resign, Mr. Obama must fire him immediately.”

Operation Fast & Furious is the gun-running scheme where the Justice Department approved (and in some cases, helped fund) the purchase and smuggling of firearms into Mexico — all with the apparent intent of using the increased violence south of the border as a pretext for more gun control in this country.

In October, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) became the first congressmen to publicly call for Holder’s resignation. Two weeks after Walsh “broke the ice,” Arizona Representative Paul Gosar organized a press conference where more than three dozen congressmen announced they were joining the call for Holder’s ouster.

“From what we’ve seen – lying to Congress in his dictations and prior comments – the audacity of this egregious injustice on American citizens as well as Mexican citizens, he’s got to go,” Gosar said.

In addition to Operation Fast & Furious, the Justice Department continues to engage in activities that target or demonize gun owners. U.S. News & World Report informed their readers last week that the Obama Administration has just put millions of acres of public lands off limits to hunting and target practice.

It’s actions like these which demonstrate the clear animus that President Obama has for gun owners. Stay tuned for more updates as these stories continue to develop.

GOF wins in the VA Supreme Court
Earlier this month, Gun Owners Foundation won a Supreme Court case in defense of a gun owner in the Old Dominion. Russell Ernest Smith had been wrongfully convicted of “willfully and intentionally” making a false statement on his 4473 form when purchasing a firearm. But GOF believed that the government’s argument against Smith was specious.

So Gun Owners Foundation prepared its amicus brief and submitted it on behalf of Mr. Smith. GOF was the only group making the case that Smith’s conviction should be overturned. After waiting several months for the verdict, the Virginia Supreme Court announced its verdict on November 4 … and Smith emerged victorious.

What’s both interesting and exciting in this case is that, in overturning Smith’s conviction, the judges used an argument that GOF had made — an argument which his own lawyer did not even make. GOF is making an impact upon the courts in defense of gun owners’ rights!

There’s much more to be thankful for — as the above is just the tip of the iceberg. Despite the many battles we have ahead, we enjoy unparalleled freedom as compared to most places in the world.

So with that in mind, we at Gun Owners of America hope that you will spend a safe and thankful holiday with your family and friends.

Happy Thanksgiving!

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- On Tuesday, the U.S. House voted in favor of a procedural motion to allow concealed carry legislation to come to the floor for a vote on Wednesday.

The bill, H.R. 822, is intended to honor the American peoples’ right to keep and bear arms when traveling from state to state.

But while well-intentioned, H.R. 822 contains several flaws.

Vermont Gun Owners Cut Out of Bill

For starters, the bill does not protect Vermont-style carry. Residents of that state do not need a permit in order to exercise their right to carry a firearm. But in order to benefit from the reciprocity bill, Vermonters would be forced to obtain a permit.

When GOA pointed out this problem, supporters of the legislation said Vermont residents can “just get an out-of-state permit.”

But that answer is unacceptable.

Why should existing liberties be sacrificed in the rush to pass a faulty bill? Why should a state with exemplary gun laws be, in effect, “punished” for being too pro-gun?

Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) offered a real solution to this issue with his bill, HR 2900. Rep. Broun’s bill protects the Vermont law and those of states that follow Vermont’s lead.

Click here to email your Representative

Protect Constitutional Carry
Constitutional Carry, wherein citizens can carry a firearm without first having to prove their worthiness to the police or government bureaucrats, is spreading to states around the country.

Alaska, Arizona and Wyoming now have Constitutional Carry laws based on the Vermont model. Montana passed such a law that covers 98% of the state, and Texas passed a “constitutional carry lite” law that applies to firearms carried in a vehicle.

These new laws represent the efforts of hundreds of thousands of grassroots gun owners working in their states to restore their constitutional rights.

The bill coming to the floor on Wednesday will deter such efforts by requiring state residents to possess a permit in order to be able to carry interstate.

The Broun bill is Constitutional Carry-friendly and would not undermine the work underway in many states to pass laws similar to Vermont’s.

Pass the Best Bill Possible

Supporters of H.R. 822 argue that this bill is the best that can be passed. That pragmatic argument is simply not true.

In 2009, a Senate bill virtually identical to H.R. 2900 garnered 58 votes. And that was before the last election, which improved the Senate significantly.

The “best bill possible” is the one that already has the votes in the Senate to pass. The supporters of H.R. 822 instead chose to move a weaker bill in the chamber where gun owners have more support.

Supporters of H.R. 822 also want NO amendments (even ones that are pro-gun) to pass to the underlying bill. But an amendment is exactly what is needed to correct the deficiencies in this bill.

Contact Your Representative Right Away

Please take action quickly, as this bill is set to come to the floor on Wednesday afternoon.

GOA has provided a prewritten message you can send asking your Representative to cosponsor H.R. 2900 and to urge the House leaders to fix the flaws in the concealed carry reciprocity bill.

Click here to email your Representative.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- There’s great news happening in Washington, and you guys have played a central role in helping bring it about. We need your help to keep us on the front lines, so that we can keep winning more battles together in our nation’s capital.

First, however, there was an important hearing yesterday on Capitol Hill. Attorney General Eric Holder testified before the U.S. Senate and admitted that Operation Fast and Furious was “flawed” from the beginning.

But while he confessed the operation was a big mistake and should have “never happened,” he refused to say if anyone has been disciplined for their involvement in the scandal. More on that below.

Your voice is being heard!
1. In related news, your letters, phone calls and emails are having an impact on Capitol Hill.

You will remember that right after we asked you to begin urging Congress to call on Eric Holder to resign, Representatives started calling immediately for his resignation. Rep. Joe Walsh was the first one to urge this course of action, but then the list of congressmen began growing quite rapidly.

The list has doubled since we last alerted you, and there are now 35 Congressmen who have called for Holder’s resignation. Thanks for your help!

2. In other news, the Justice Department pulled its obnoxious regulation under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) directing government agencies to lie to the public.

GOA alerted you to these regs last week and asked you to put the heat on your Congressman. Since Congress has the power to defund these regulations, GOA felt that this was the institution best suited to put the heat on the administration.

Now, one week later, the regs are gone! Thank you all for your activism and for taking the time to contact your congressman.

Democrats: It’s all Bush’s fault
If you’ve watched the news even minimally over the past three years, you are no doubt aware that President Obama has used the “Blame Bush” approach for everything that ails the economy.

Well, it seems that some of his pupils — like Democrat Senators Chuck Schumer (NY) and Pat Leahy (VT) – have adopted the same mantra. They claim that Fast & Furious is simply a continuation of a Bush-era program known as Wide Receiver.

But as noted by researcher John Lott, Bush’s Wide Receiver tracing program and Obama’s Fast and Furious are very different. After all, Fast and Furious was a “gun-tracing program that didn’t even try to trace guns.”

In sharp contrast, Lott says, Bush’s Wide Receiver “gave direct notice to the Mexican authorities so that they could try to track the guns as they crossed the border.”

Under Fast and Furious, the Obama Administration did not work with Mexican authorities, and that has led many observers to suggest the administration actually wanted guns flowing south of the border to help create the “need” for greater gun restrictions in this country.

As stated by Rep. Joe Walsh last month, Fast and Furious was a “deliberate attempt” to prejudice the millions of gun owners in America who value our Second Amendment and who have never broken the law.

“This program was deliberately designed to attack law-abiding American gun-owners and gun-dealers,” Walsh said. “Why else would an anti-gun Administration force licensed firearms dealers to sell guns to violent criminals?”

Holder seeking more gun control restrictions
We need to keep pressure up. Attorney General Holder is neither repentant, nor is he calling for reform. Instead, he is doubling down and putting a target on gun owners’ backs.

“The mistakes of Operation Fast and Furious, serious though they were, should not deter or distract us from our critical mission to disrupt the dangerous flow of firearms across our Southwest border,” Holder said.

The “dangerous flow of firearms”? Is he serious? If he really wanted to stop the flow of weapons to Mexico, he would take a good, hard look in the mirror … and then step down from office.

Instead, he told Congress that we need to stem the “dangerous flow of firearms,” which is, of course, code for more gun control restrictions. In fact, he urged Congress yesterday to give the ATF more power — “the resources and statutory tools it needs to be effective,” he said.

We don’t need more gun control, and we certainly don’t need more of the ATF in our lives.

GOA is looking forward to hearings that will be held in the House of Representatives next month. GOA will be encouraging House members to really pin Holder down, and not let him dance around the way he did in the Senate.

Help GOA stay on the front lines

Thanks again for all your activism. You can help us stay in the fight by giving an end-of-year contribution. Thanks so much.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- “I’ve been trying to think what rational explanation there could be for creating and doing Fast and Furious the way that they did it where they let these guns walk away.

And I can’t come up with anything short of thinking that this was a political ploy to bring gun trafficking into Mexico into the news to support some sort of anti-firearm agenda.” — Rep. Blake Farenthold (R-TX), July 13, 2011

The fallout over the Obama Administration’s gun running scandal – known as Operation Fast and Furious – continues to pick up steam. The national media continues to reveal how more and more people in the Administration knew that guns were “walking” south of the border.

The latest revelation came this week when Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer admitted that he was familiar with the “gun walking” tactic, and that he supposedly regrets not having taken action.

Breuer made this confession while testifying before the Senate Judiciary subcommittee on crime and terrorism on Tuesday.

Next week, Attorney General Eric Holder will testify before the full Senate Judiciary Committee. And, as in the House, Senators will want to know: “What did Holder know, and when did he know it?”

As more information comes to light, it seems all too clear that Operation Fast and Furious was simply a way for the administration to make a case for more gun control restrictions.

Rep. Farenhold demonstrated that he “gets it” when he noted that Fast and Furious was simply a “political ploy to bring gun trafficking into Mexico into the news to support some sort of anti-firearm agenda.”

And considering the number of agencies that were involved in this operation (ATF, FBI, IRS, DEA and ICE), it seems implausible that Attorney General Holder was ignorant of what was transpiring, especially when one considers that he was receiving regular updates from his subordinates.

Holder has claimed he only found out about Fast and Furious this year. But House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Darrell Issa says:

How is it that the Number Two, Three, Four at Justice all knew about this Program but the Number One [Attorney General Eric Holder] didn’t? Is it because he said “don’t tell me”? Is it because they knew what they were doing was wrong and they were protecting their boss? Or is it just that Eric Holder was so disconnected ….

As we have stated all along: Either Holder is lying about the fact he didn’t know early on about Fast and Furious or he is inept. Either way, Eric Holder needs to step down.

ACTION: Please Click here to urge your Senators to join the 17 Representatives who have already called for Eric Holder’s resignation

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The Obama Administration has issued a regulation under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) directing government agencies to lie to the public.

We in the gun community have faced an analogous situation when Attorney General Eric Holder and other high Justice Department officials lied about their knowledge of Operation Fast and Furious – and the department’s role in placing guns in the hands of Mexican drug cartels.

But even this falls short of a written regulation requiring bureaucrats to lie.

Click here to see what you can do to help stop this regulation from going into effect.

MORE CONGRESSMEN JOIN CALL FOR HOLDER’S RESIGNATION
Thank you so much for communicating with your Representatives last week in regard to Attorney General Eric Holder. The day after we asked you to contact your Congressman, the number of Representatives calling for Holder’s resignation officially doubled.

And since then, the number of Congressmen calling for Holder’s ousting has more than doubled again — the total number now reaching 17.

They are listening to you on Capitol Hill!

Click here to see if your Congressman is one of the 17 who have taken the bold stand of calling for Holder’s resignation.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) sent a scathing rebuke to Attorney General Eric Holder yesterday and called on him to resign his post at the Justice Department.

Noting that Holder needed to “take responsibility” for implicating the United States as an accessory to violent crimes committed by the Mexican drug cartels, Walsh blasted the Attorney General for the role he played in the “subsequent cover-up” of the failed Fast and Furious operation.

As detailed by Gun Owners of America on many occasions, Operation Fast and Furious is the gun-running scheme where the Justice Department has approved – and in some cases, helped fund – the purchase and smuggling of firearms into Mexico.

The apparent purpose of this gun running scandal was to use the increased violence south of the border as a pretext for more gun control in this country. Sadly, two U.S. federal agents — and hundreds of Mexican citizens — have died as a result of these illegal sales which the FBI approved under the direction of the Obama Administration.

Rep. Walsh takes Holder to task for “knowingly [forcing] licensed firearms dealers to sell guns to violent criminals” and for claiming that he was “not aware” this happening. As Walsh notes, Holder “received no less than seven memos” detailing the creation and progress of Fast and Furious.

“The American people deserve to know the truth regarding Attorney General Eric Holder’s knowledge and role in the Fast and Furious operation,” Walsh said in a statement. “This program was deliberately designed to attack law-abiding American gun-owners and gun-dealers. Why else would an anti-gun Administration force licensed firearms dealers to sell guns to violent criminals?”

Rep. Walsh told Fox News’ Neil Cavuto that Holder “needs to be held accountable.”

ACTION: Please click here to ask your Representative to follow Walsh’s lead in calling for Attorney General Eric Holder to resign.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

AmmoLand Gun News

WASHINGTON, D.C. –-(Ammoland.com)- Today, U.S. Senators Richard Burr (R-NC) and Jim Webb (D-VA), along with 10 other cosponsors, introduced legislation that would end the arbitrary process through which the government strips veterans and other Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) beneficiaries of their Second Amendment rights.

Currently, veterans who have a fiduciary appointed to act on their behalf are deemed “mentally defective” and are reported to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), a system which prevents them from being able to purchase firearms in the United States.

The Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act would require a judicial authority to determine that VA beneficiaries pose a danger to themselves or others before they can be added to the FBI’s NICS.

“Taking away a Constitutional right is a serious action, and veterans should be afforded the same due process under the law as all other American citizens,” Burr said. “This legislation would protect the rights of veterans and their families by ensuring that only a proper judicial authority is able to determine who is referred to NICS. Our veterans took an oath to uphold the Constitution and they deserve to enjoy the rights they fought so hard to protect.”

“As a matter of fairness, a veteran should be permitted to purchase a firearm under the same conditions as every other American,” said Senator Webb. “This bipartisan bill ensures consistent guidelines are used for reporting citizens to the FBI, and that no veteran is needlessly stripped of their Second Amendment rights.”

The Federal Gun Control Act prohibits certain individuals who have been deemed a “mental defective” from purchasing a firearm. Currently, around 114,000 people who are receiving VA benefits have been reported to NICS, stripping them of their constitutional rights simply because VA appointed a fiduciary to act on their behalf. A fiduciary is assigned to handle disability compensation, pensions, survivors’ compensation, and other VA payments on behalf of a veteran, surviving spouse, dependent child, or dependent parent. VA’s review process for assigning a fiduciary is meant to determine one’s ability to manage VA-provided cash assistance.

The process does not determine whether they are a danger to themselves or others.

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The House this week adopted legislation protecting the Second Amendment rights of veterans.

Sponsored by Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-MT), the legislation requires that before a veteran can lose his or her gun rights, they must receive due process in a court of law. Rehberg offered the measure as an amendment to H.R. 2349, which passed the House on a voice vote.

Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) told GOA he plans to introduce a Senate version of the bill right away. GOA is working to get as many cosponsors to this legislation as possible. In the last Congress, Sen. Burr’s bill passed out of committee only to be derailed by Harry Reid and anti-gun Senate Democrats.

Veterans Disarmament Act
It might seem like a no-brainer. In America, no one —be they in the military or a civilian— should be stripped of their constitutional liberties without having their day in court, right? But it can happen, and it does happen.

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) can deem a veteran as a “mental defective” for the sole reason of having a third party appointed over their financial affairs. Veterans with mental health issues such as temporary memory loss or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) commonly turn over control of their finances to a spouse or family member.

Because persons found to be “mental defectives” are prohibited from owning firearms, the names of these veterans are turned over to the FBI’s NICS system.

No crime needs to have been committed. No finding that the person is even remotely dangerous. No trial by a jury of one’s peers. A veteran can be stripped of his or her gun rights simply by the capricious action of government bureaucrats.

Ok, some may protest, but this must happen rarely. It must be an aberration, a mistake. Wrong.

Since 1999, over 150,000 honorably discharged veterans have lost their gun rights in precisely this manner. And though it’s theoretically possible to get off the list, that rarely—if ever—happens.

Gun owners who are not veterans can also be affected by the current law because the definition of “mental defective” used by the VA applies to anyone. It affects veterams particularly hard because of the ease of information sharing between one federal agency (VA) and another (FBI).

But under ObamaCare, medical records for all Americans will be made increasingly available to Washington bureaucrats. What safeguards are in place to ensure that those records will not likewise be abused? None.

That’s why it is vitally important that all gun owners contact their two Senators and insist that they support Sen. Burr’s Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act.

This bill ensures that a veteran cannot lose his or her gun rights without a finding in a court of law that the person is a danger to self or others.

This would mean no more “psychiatric gun bans” for vets, and it will serve notice to the federal government that the same thing will not be allowed to happen to the rest of the population.

GOA is working to get as many cosponsors as possible. Due process under the law is something even anti-gunners should support (they won’t, of course), and we are pushing to get a veto-proof majority behind this legislation.

ACTION: Please contact your Senators and urge them to cosponsor the Second Amendment Veterans Protection Act.

Click Here to Send Your Senators a prewritten email message.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The House Judiciary Committee will soon be voting on legislation that will guarantee the right of citizens to carry firearms out-of-state.

And the vote could come as early as today or tomorrow!

GOA has alerted you to H.R. 822 — introduced by Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL) – and explained the weaknesses in his bill. Many of you have taken action on our alerts and informed your Representative that there is a better approach.

That approach has been championed by Rep. Paul Broun of Georgia, the author of H.R. 2900 — or the Secure Access to Firearms Enhancement (SAFE) Act.

The Broun bill has several advantages:

• It would allow residents of California, New Jersey and other “may issue” states to get out-of-state carry permits (say, from Florida or Utah) and carry in their home states — an benefit they would not enjoy under the Stearns’ bill;
• Broun also protects the right of gun owners in non-permit states like Vermont and allows them to carry out-of-state without a permit; and
• Finally, the Broun bill does not rely on an expansive, erroneous interpretation of the Commerce Clause. Passing gun legislation that uses the Commerce Clause for authority could undercut efforts at promoting Firearms Freedom Act legislation throughout the country which specifically declares the Commerce Clause has no authority over the production of intrastate guns.

We need to continue putting heat on Congress, now that this reciprocity legislation is beginning to move. You’ve already sent your emails, but now it’s time to change things up and send postcards. If the House committee passes the Stearns bill, then it will probably come to the floor of the House some time next month.

So there is plenty of time to inundate Representatives’ offices with postcards and mail — urging them to support H.R. 2900 — or to amend the Stearns bill so that it contains the gun owners’ protections in the Broun bill.

So, GOA members, please be looking for the latest mailing from GOA headquarters which should begin arriving this week. And please take the enclosed postcard and send it to your Representative. Then, take the extra two postcards and have pro-gun family members and friends send them, as well. That will multiply your efforts by 200%.

Also, did you see the Violence Policy Center’s “research” which supposedly debunks concealed carry? Click here to see GOA’s most recent Fact Sheet, which blasts the VPC faux report and sets the record straight.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- The U.S House gaveled back into session yesterday after a week-long recess, and one Representative spent part of the break sending a message to anti-gunners in his home state.

Rep. Joe Walsh, a Republican representing a suburban Chicago district, took Illinois to task for being the only state in the country to completely ban concealed carry for its citizens.

“We are an embarrassment,” Rep. Walsh said, speaking to a gathering of local Tea Party activists. “We are the last state standing when it comes to concealed carry. There’s no issue when it comes to freedom that matters like this, like the Second Amendment.

“The most important amendment in that Bill of Rights is the Second Amendment. It protects every other amendment. It is the last line of defense between us and our government.”

Not surprisingly, Walsh was attacked for his efforts to protect gun rights by the Brady Campaign. Dennis Henigan, acting president of the disarmament group, called on Walsh to offer an “explanation” of his comments.

Rep. Walsh replied in a letter to Henigan, in which he reiterated his willingness to fight for the Second Amendment rights of all Americans:

I am happy to today respond to Mr. Henigan’s request for clarity when I emphasized that the Second Amendment is the most important amendment in the Constitution – because it protects every other amendment. I hope I was clear in that and wanted to send this letter to help ensure that message is clear.

Illinois is now the only state in the entire nation that doesn’t allow lawful Americans to carry a firearm. [Don't forget New Jersey] Violent crimes continue to decrease even as more states such as Wisconsin – that recently passed a concealed carry permit [law] – repeal archaic laws crafted to restrict gun rights.

We need not forget that freedom was gained and will always be maintained by a strict interpretation of our Constitution and this certainly includes the Second Amendment.

Gun rights advocates are on the front lines in defending our freedoms. I stand with them in this noble mission and will always be an outspoken advocate for Second Amendment rights and particularly, a repeal of Illinois laws preventing the right-to-carry.

Gun Owners of America applauds Rep. Walsh for taking on the anti-gunners both in Illinois and on the national stage—we need more people like that in Washington.

Does your own Representative support your right to keep and bear arms? Let’s find out.

Georgia Rep. Paul Broun recently introduced H.R. 2900, a bill that will simply allow for interstate recognition of concealed carry provided that one can lawfully carry in his home state.

Rep. Broun’s bill, the “Secure Access to Firearms Enhancement (SAFE) Act,” does not establish national standards or in any way dictate what states do with respect to concealed carry. The bill also does not rely on an expansive view of the Constitution’s commerce clause for justification and it includes interstate carry even for states that do not require government issued permits.

The SAFE Act, H.R. 2900, merely recognizes that constitutional rights do not evaporate at the state line and that citizens should not be turned into disarmed victims by the government when leaving their home state.

So please ask you Representative to join with Reps. Broun and Walsh in protecting the right to self-defense both at home and while traveling.

Click here to send your Congressman a pre-written letter.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- In the recent Presidential debate, Congresswoman Michelle Bachmann said America’s voters did not need to “settle” for the moderate candidate. Amen to that.

And gun owners do NOT want candidates who talk out of both sides of their mouths.

As the Gun Owners of America’s Board of Directors looks at the Republican candidates running to unseat radical anti-gun President Obama, we see several who have strong pro-gun backgrounds.

Ron Paul, Rick Perry, Michelle Bachman all have solid pro-gun records and deserve a hard look from pro-gunners.

At least one frontrunner candidate stands in contrast with a decidedly mixed record on the gun issue. While Mitt Romney likes to “talk the pro-gun talk,” he has not always walked the walk.

“The Second Amendment protects the individual right of lawful citizens to keep and bear arms. I strongly support this essential freedom,” Romney assures gun owners these days.

But this is the same Mitt Romney who, as governor, promised not to do anything to “chip away” at Massachusetts’ extremely restrictive gun laws.

“We do have tough gun laws in Massachusetts; I support them,” he said during a gubernatorial debate. “I won’t chip away at them; I believe they protect us and provide for our safety.”

Even worse, Romney signed a law to permanently ban many semi-automatic firearms.

“These guns are not made for recreation or self-defense,” Romney said in 2004. “They are instruments of destruction with the sole purpose of hunting down and killing people.”

Romney also spoke in favor of the Brady law’s five day waiting period on handguns. The Boston Globe quotes Romney saying, “I don’t think (the waiting period) will have a massive effect on crime but I think it will have a positive effect.”

Mitt Romney doesn’t seem to understand the meaning of “SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.”

And that makes it all the more troubling that Romney refuses to answer GOA’s simple candidate questionnaire. In our more than 36 years of experience, a candidate is usually hiding anti-gun views if he or she refuses to come clean in writing with specific commitments to the Second Amendment.

Today, Romney may be a favorite “Republican Establishment” candidate of the national press corps. But that is exactly what gun owners DON’T need in a new President.

We need someone who will stand by true constitutional principles and protect the Second Amendment.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Rep. Paul Broun Introduces Concealed Carry Recognition Bill

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Pro-gun champion Rep. Paul Broun (R-GA) recently introduced a concealed carry recognition bill, H.R. 2900, that allows law-abiding citizens who can legally carry concealed in their home state to carry all across the country, as well.

Titled “The Secure Access to Firearms Enhancement (SAFE) Act,” this legislation recognizes that constitutional rights do not become null and void at the state line.

And, most importantly, Rep. Broun’s bill is “constitutional carry” friendly. The SAFE Act recognizes that while CCW permits are the “norm” in most states, constitutional carry is the ideal.

For more than twenty years, Gun Owners of America has pushed constitutional carry (also known as Vermont-style carry) at the state level. Such legislation recognizes the right to carry without having to first get the government’s permission.

After all, how much of a right is protected by the Second Amendment if citizens must first pass tests, fill out applications, take classes and, in many cases, be fingerprinted and photographed to obtain a license—in essence, to prove to the authorities that they’re not criminals before being allowed to carry?

Vermont had it right for over a century. Any person can carry a concealed firearm—whether they are a resident of the state or not—except for use in the commission of a crime. That’s it. No registration, no paperwork, no arbitrary denials by anti-gun bureaucrats.

And the result? Vermont consistently ranks among the safest states in the country.

And other states are finally starting to follow suit. Three states (Alaska, Arizona, and Wyoming) have passed constitutional carry laws for their own citizens. Texas passed a modified version, allowing for a concealed firearm anywhere inside one’s vehicle, including motor homes. And since 1991, constitutional carry has been allowed in more than 99% of the state of Montana.

Even with these improvements, however, reciprocal agreements between states are written in such a way that an actual permit is still required in order to carry concealed from state to state.

And in many instances, there is NO way to legally carry concealed in another state.

Rep. Broun’s bill addresses this issue in a way that respects the Constitution and in a way that recognizes the unalienable right to defend one’s life—without needing a permit from the government.

Just as GOA works to eliminate government restrictions on carry at the state level, GOA has never supported a bill at the national level that stops short of recognizing constitutional carry.

After all, a bill that requires states to implement a permitting system risks setting back the efforts of the many states seeking to pass real concealed carry reform.

The SAFE Act also respects the Constitution and states’ powers in that it does NOT establish national standards for concealed carry, nor does it provide for a national carry permit or require a state like Vermont to move to a permit system (in order for its citizens to carry out-of-state).

In fact, the Broun bill will do nothing to change what the states already do in terms of allowing or denying their citizens their right to carry firearms. This bill simply allows citizens who are able to carry in their home state, to also carry in every other state that allows concealed carry.

Another important distinction is that Rep. Broun’s bill, unlike other legislation being debated in Congress, does not rely on an expansive, erroneous interpretation of the Commerce Clause. The SAFE Act instead recognizes the “full faith and credit” protection that is guaranteed in Article IV of the Constitution.

Constitutionally-protected rights, including the right to self-defense, do not disappear at the state line. Rep. Broun’s SAFE Act will simply allow lawful gun owners who have the right carry concealed firearms in their home state to also carry in other states.

ACTION: Please contact your Representative and urge him or her to cosponsor Rep. Broun’s SAFE Act.

Click Here to Send Your Representative a prewritten email message

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Candidate Carl Wimmer of Utah

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- There is a candidate for Congress running in Utah that every gun owner should get to know.

His name is Carl Wimmer, and he is a champion of the Second Amendment and of reining in the out-of-control federal government.

Carl is just an everyday average citizen who got fed up when his own state representative voted against freedom one too many times. He ran for office and—to the shock of the political establishment—Carl won.

Other legislators expected the new Rep. Wimmer to fall in line with the Republican caucus once he arrived at the state capital. But Carl had no intention of becoming just another yes man for party leaders. He got into politics to restore liberty, and his list of accomplishments thus far is impressive.

Soon after being elected, Carl helped form the Patrick Henry Caucus. The Caucus, open to state legislators across the country, asserts State’s powers against federal, unconstitutional intrusion.

One of the first issues Wimmer’s group took on in Utah was the “Firearms Freedom Act,” which states that all firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition “manufactured commercially or privately in the state to be used or sold within the state is not subject to federal law or federal regulation, including registration, under the authority of Congress to regulate interstate commerce.”

Rep. Wimmer also authored the state’s Constitutional Carry bill. Constitutional carry restores the proper relationship of the citizen to their public servants by recognizing that We the People are the sovereigns and should not be forced to obtain government approval to exercise a constitutional right.

Carl authored the state’s Health Care nullification bill, which would protect Utah citizens from the unconstitutional mandate of the anti-gun ObamaCare law.

And he co-sponsored a land nullification bill to prevent federal control over land in the state without the consent of the Utah legislature.

Now Carl aims to take his small-government views to Washington. He is running for the new Utah congressional seat that resulted from the most recent congressional reapportionment.

Those who believe in freedom and limited government will not find a better friend than Carl Wimmer. Gun Owners of America Political Victory Fund is proud to endorse his candidacy for Congress, and we encourage gun owners from across the country to put Carl on the top of their list of candidates to watch—and to support.

Please visit www.carlwimmer.com to make a contribution to his campaign and to learn more about Carl.

Thank you in advance for getting behind the Wimmer campaign.

P.S. Many politicians will try to keep this seat out of the hands of a true constitutionalist. So please visit https://carlwimmer.netboots.net/contribute to make a contribution today.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Within the next month, Congress will be taking actions that will impact our Second Amendment rights.

Here’s what we’re facing. On or about September 30, Congress will consider a “continuing resolution” (CR) to fund the government from October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012.

Well, you can be sure about this — when it comes to funding the government, any bill passed by Congress will NOT be neutral on the Second Amendment:

• Either the CR will fund the anti-gun ObamaCare program … or it will explicitly prohibit ObamaCare from being funded.
• Either it will fund ATF’s illegal efforts to register multiple sales of long guns in the southwest … or it will explicitly prohibit those activities from being funded.
• Either it will fund the Obama administration’s illegal efforts to block the importation of shotguns and rifles … or it will explicitly prohibit these bans from being funded.
• Either it will fund negotiations at the United Nations to produce a small arms treaty that will license firearms, ban semi-autos, and ban tiny modifications of firearms … or it will explicitly prohibit those negotiations.

Barack Obama can veto the CR. If he does so, his wretched administration will be shut down.

But the House of Representatives also has a veto, as it can refuse to send an anti-gun CR to the Senate.

So the message is that Congress needs to reject any CR which:

• Does not defund ObamaCare;
• Does not defund the illegal multiples sales regs;
• Does not defund the illegal shotgun and rifle import bans;
• Does not defund the UN negotiations to license American gun owners.

We can tell you right now that there will be some congressmen who will say: “Sure, I voted to fund ObamaCare. But that doesn’t mean I support ObamaCare.”

That is a lie.

There are congressmen who will say: “Sure, I voted to fund the registration of long guns. But that doesn’t mean I support the registration of long guns.”

That is a lie.

There are some who will say: “Sure, I voted to fund the bans on importing shotguns and rifles. But that doesn’t mean I support those import bans.”

That is a lie.

And there are some who will say: “Sure, I voted to fund UN negotiations to register gun owners. But that doesn’t mean I support gun registration.”

That is a lie.

ACTION: Contact your congressman. Tell him to stake out a position early and publicly that he will oppose any CR which does not defund ObamaCare, the illegal long gun multiple sales regs, the illegal shotgun and rifle bans, and the UN negotiations to produce a treaty which will register American gun owners.

Click Here to Send Your Representative a pre-written email message.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Gun Owners of America is working with several members of Congress to repeal a gun ban on land controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Currently, guns are prohibited on Corps land, even when firearms possession is otherwise allowed by state law. Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH) introduced legislation —the Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act (H.R. 1865)— to allow state law to govern firearms possession.

You may recall that in July, Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) offered similar language as an amendment to an appropriations bill. Gosar’s amendment passed the House on a voice vote, but its fate is uncertain as it heads to the Senate.

The Gibbs bill, as well as the Gosar amendment, is modeled after a similar measure that became law in 2009 affecting National Park Service land. Army Corps of Engineers land was not part of that bill, something the Corps was quick to point out after that law took affect.

The Corps said, in a statement: “Public Law 111-024 does not apply to Corps projects of facilities . . . [and the Army Corps] will continue to prohibit loaded concealed weapons on Corps properties regardless of the new law and notwithstanding any contrary provisions of state law.”

Rep. Gibbs’ bill will reverse the Corps’ decision.

“The Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act is a bipartisan effort to restore Second Amendment rights to law-abiding citizens while they are legally camping, hunting, and fishing on the 11.7 million acres of Army Corps recreational property,” Gibbs said. “Families and sportsmen taking advantage of this federal land should not have to worry that their legally obtained concealed weapon permit is invalid.”

Gun Owners of America applauds the efforts of Reps. Gibbs and Gosar, and will continue to push for repeal of the gun ban affecting over 400 lake and river projects, 90,000 campsites and 4,000 miles of trails controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers.

ACTION: Please contact your Representative and urge him or her to cosponsor H.R. 1865, the Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act.

Click here to send a prewritten message to your Representative.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- With the Iowa straw poll concluding over the weekend, the 2012 presidential race is in full swing.

The Republican field is taking shape, with one governor dropping out (Tim Pawlenty) and another jumping in (Rick Perry).

But one question that remains for gun owners is where do the candidates stand on gun control issues?

Even after the debate on Friday, and throughout all the speeches over the past week, most candidates have not even mentioned the Second Amendment.

Whoever is elected president will have a tremendous impact on your right to keep and bear arms, perhaps even more than usual.

What’s at stake in 2012?
The next president will be faced with a UN Arms Trade Treaty that could impact the rights of every American gun owner. Will he or she urge the Senate to ratify such a treaty, or toss it into the Oval Office wastebasket?

What if the Congress passes a new ban on semi-automatic firearms, or so-called large capacity magazines, or legislation to put gun shows out of business? Will the new president break out the veto pen, or sign such bills into law?

Will the next president sign or veto legislation to repeal the anti-gun ObamaCare—which could lead to the disarming of hundreds of thousands of gun owners based on the opinions of doctors?

And what about the burgeoning scandal known as Project Gunrunner? Can gun owners be assured that the person elected president in 2012 will hold the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) accountable for any wrongdoing?

All of these questions and more are asked by Gun Owners of America in our 2012 Presidential Candidate Questionnaire.

The questionnaire was sent to the candidates, but you know that many politicians would prefer not to put their Second Amendment views on record. So we are asking our members to contact any (or all) of the candidates listed below and urge them to complete the GOA questionnaire.

We have compiled a list of Republican candidates without regard to where they finished in recent polls. Included are links to their webforms, phone numbers (if available) and also a sample letter you can cut-and-paste or use as talking points.

And after you’ve contacted the candidates, please consider helping GOA to reach out to as many gun rights supporters as possible. The 2012 elections promise to be the most expensive in history, and GOA will be making sure the voices of gun owners are heard above the din.

Republican candidate list, in alphabetical order:

• Michele Bachmann

  http://www.michelebachmann.com/contact/

• Herman Cain

  http://www.hermancain.com/contact-us

• Newt Gingrich

  http://www.newt.org/contact

  (678) 973-2409

• Jon Huntsman

  http://www.jon2012.com/contact

  (407) 674-2727

• Gary Johnson

  http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/contact

  801-303-7922

• Thaddeus McCotter
  Email: campaign@mccotter2012.com
• Ron Paul

  http://www.ronpaul2012.com/contact-us/

  1-855-886-9779

• Rick Perry

  http://www.rickperry.org/contact-us/

• Rick Santorum
  http://www.facebook.com/RickSantorum (No web form; you can leave a comment FB)
  412-965-4601

Pre-written letter:

Dear Candidate,

Gun Owners of America has announced its survey of presidential candidates.

I am extremely interested in your views on issues such as:

The UN Arms Trade Treaty
A ban on semi-automatic firearms
A so-called large capacity magazine ban
Closing down gun shows
Project Gunrunner

I encourage you to complete and return to GOA the candidate survey as soon as possible. I will be looking forward to the results.

Sincerely,

————————————————————————

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul Visit: www.gunowners.org

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Well, the hot debate which dominated the nation for several weeks has finally simmered down. The debt ceiling deal is now law, and both sides of the political aisle are arguing over who won and who lost.

But one thing you won’t hear about — in fact, we may not fully know the answer for several months — is how much gun owners lost in this recent deal.

To quote Kentucky Senator Rand Paul from earlier this week:

The Super Committee [created by the new law] limits the constitutional check of the filibuster by expediting passage of bills with a simple majority. The Super Committee is not precluded from any issue [including gun control], therefore the filibuster could be rendered moot.

Get that? The law raising the debt ceiling creates a Super Committee (in other words, a Super Congress) which will give its recommendations for balancing the budget. This Super Congress can include ANYTHING in its legislation, including gun control.

And none of it can be filibustered or amended!!

Well, you might think, the Super Congress’ recommendations still have to be voted on by each house of Congress. Surely, we can find enough congressmen to shoot down any anti-gun recommendations.

Maybe, maybe not … because here’s the problem. Whatever this super-committee reports in November, including gun control, will HAVE to be passed — or the Pentagon loses a total of $800 billion (effectively shutting it down).

How many pro-gun congressmen will feel they have to “hold their noses” and vote for the Super Congress’ legislation to prevent a total of $800 billion from being cut from the Department of Defense?

The key will be who gets appointed to this Super Committee. Senator Harry Reid and Rep. Nancy Pelosi will pick six members — as will House Speaker John Boehner and Senator Mitch McConnell, for a total of 12 members.

But if the six Pelosi/Reid Democrats can cower a single Republican into going along with their radical agenda -– using the threat of a massive defense cut totaling hundreds of billions of dollars -– then we could be stuck with additional gun control.

We already know that the six Pelosi/Reid Democrats are going to vote in lockstep. What if the only Republican vote they need is a RINO like John McCain or Lamar Alexander?

The question answers itself.

By the way, this debt ceiling deal was not a compromise. A real compromise would have repealed the anti-gun ObamaCare law which (in addition to being a trillion dollar boondoggle) will compile everyone’s health-related medical records into a massive computer database. This centralized information could allow the FBI to determine whether any American has a medical condition justifying a gun ban.

Please check and see how your Representative and Senators voted, and make a point to speak to them during the summer recess.

ACTION: Your representative and senators will be holding town hall meetings in August. Attend them. Speak at them.

Tell your representative and senators, politely but firmly, that you are disgusted by Congress’ debt limit “compromise.”

TALKING POINTS:

1. There is NOTHING in the debt ceiling deal which prevents the Super Committee from including other issues like gun control in its legislation. (The Super Committee has virtually unlimited authority under subparagraph 401(b)(3)(A)(i).)
2. Whatever the Super Committee puts in the bill is unamendable and non-filibusterable. In other words, the House and Senate must conduct an up-or-down vote on the Super Committee’s legislation.
3. You have put a gun to the head of every congressman by forcing them to choose between devastating Defense Department cuts ($800 billion in total) or blindly adopting the Super Committee’s legislation, which could include gun control, tax increases, etc.
4. This debt ceiling deal was not a compromise. A real compromise would have repealed the anti-gun ObamaCare law which (in addition to being a trillion dollar boondoggle) will compile everyone’s health-related medical records into a massive computer database. This centralized information could allow the FBI to determine whether any American has a medical condition justifying a gun ban.
5. IF YOUR REP. OR SENATOR VOTED “YES” ON THE DEBT CEILING, THEN ASK HIM THIS: Considering the fact that two-thirds of the American people support a “cut, cap and balance” approach, why would you vote for a debt ceiling bill that could, ultimately, strap me with additional gun control proposals?

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Gun owner registration … bans on semi-automatic firearms … adoption of a UN gun control treaty — all of these issues could very well be decided over the next 24 hours.

Both houses of Congress will be voting on a debt ceiling bill that establishes a legislative committee with TREMENDOUS powers. Fox News is calling this committee a SUPER CONGRESS, because its legislative proposals (which could include gun control provisions) CANNOT be filibustered or amended in the Senate or House.

To understand what a huge deal this is, consider that House Speaker John Boehner is able to keep a mountain of gun control bills from coming to the floor of the House. That’s the power of the Speaker.

And in the Senate, we have been able to kill much of the gun control agenda by filibustering legislation (that is, requiring the Majority Leader to get a supermajority or 60 votes in order to pass gun control).

The most recent example of this occurred earlier this year when we defeated a radical, anti-gun judicial nomination (Goodwin Liu) using the filibuster. The filibuster has been our saving grace in the Senate, but that could be tossed within the next 24 hours.

Regarding the debt ceiling compromise, here’s what one legislative analyst (inside a Republican office on Capitol Hill) had to say:

Right now, we have limited protection from the schemes of the left – even if they have some Republican support, we have a speaker who wouldn’t bring horrible bills to the floor, and we have the Senate filibuster.

Both of these are rendered moot by the Super committee. There is NO Senate filibuster on the product they report. The Speaker CANNOT stop a vote in the House….

[Hence], 22 liberal Republicans can join the Congressional Democrats and the President in: Closing the gun show “loophole,” banning semi-automatic weapons, creating a national handgun registration, or ordering state gun laws moot.

A super highway for gun control legislation? This is incredibly unconstitutional! We don’t elect a Congress, which can then turn around and elect a SUPER committee. We need to make sure this never lands on the President’s desk.

ACTION: Please email and call your Representative and Senators. Urge them to vote NO on establishing this SUPER CONGRESS with unconstitutional powers.

Click here to use the Gun Owners Legislative Action Center to send your legislators a pre-written e-mail message.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

This United Nations Monument Says it All...

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- A UN committee wrapped up a week-long series of meetings on a massive treaty that could undermine both U.S. sovereignty and the Second Amendment.

This is the third round of meetings by the so-called “preparatory committee” on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) as the UN gears up for final negotiations in 2012.

The most comprehensive treaty of its kind, the ATT would regulate weapons trade throughout the world on everything from battleships to bullets.

And as information trickles out of Turtle Bay in New York City, it is obvious the UN is getting more clever about taking the focus off of “small arms.”

With an eye cast in the direction of the U.S. —in particular, toward the U.S. Senate which must ratify the treaty— the most recent Draft Paper for the Arms Trade Treaty recognizes in its preamble “the sovereign right of States to determine any regulation of internal transfers of arms and national ownership exclusively within their territory, including through national constitutional protections on private ownership.”

That statement, taken by itself, is troubling. Americans’ right to keep and bear arms exists whether or not it is “recognized” by some UN committee. The right enshrined in the Second Amendment predates our own Constitution, and does not need an international stamp of approval.

But the preamble aside, the scope of the treaty is what’s most damaging. Though negotiations will continue for another year, some provisions are certain to be contained in the final draft.

The ATT will, at the very least, require gun owner registration and microstamping of ammunition. And it will define manufacturing so broadly that any gun owner who adds so much as a scope or changes a stock on a firearm would be required to obtain a manufacturing license.

It would also likely include a ban on many semi-automatic firearms (i.e., the Clinton gun ban) and demand the mandatory destruction of surplus ammo and confiscated firearms.

Any suggestion that the treaty might not impact all firearms —right down to common hunting rifles— was thrown out the window after seeing the reaction to the Canadian government’s motion that hunting rifles be exempted from the treaty.

The Canadian representative caused a stir among the other delegates this week when he proposed that the treaty include the following language: “Reaffirming that small arms have certain legitimate civilian uses, including sporting, hunting, and collecting purposes.”

While Canadian gun owners were pleased with even the slightest movement by its government to protect gun rights, the proposed language is yet another indication that ALL firearms are “on the table.”

Feeble as it is, Canadian proposal was viewed as a major wrench thrown in the works, and had the anti-gunners crying foul.

Kenneth Epps is a representative with the Canadian anti-gun group known as Project Plowshares. According to Postmedia News, Epps said Canada’s move is hampering efforts to forge a comprehensive global arms control regime.

Noting that there is little difference between a sniper rifle and a hunting rifle, Epps said, “The problem is that once you introduce exemptions, others will do the same. It’s the thin edge of the wedge….From a humanitarian perspective, all firearms need to be controlled, and that’s the bottom line.”

Such statements are eagerly welcomed by the Obama administration. Since it has been largely stymied in pushing gun control in Congress, U.S. negotiators will push the envelope as far as they can.

The U.S. Undersecretary for Arms Control and International Security, a key negotiator of the ATT, is anti-gun former Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher of California. Tauscher said last year that her team at the State Department “will work between now and the UN Conference in 2012 to negotiate a legally binding Arms Trade Treaty.”

In 2009, newly confirmed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reversed the position of the Bush administration (which voted against the treaty in 2008) and stated that “The United States is prepared to work hard for a strong international standard in this area.”

International standards, however, may not be the only, or even the primary, objective.

Former ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, observes that, “The hidden agenda of a lot of the people who sought to negotiate a small arms treaty really had less to do with reducing dangers internationally and a lot more to do with creating a framework for gun control statutes at the national level.”

Bolton explains that pressure from the groups agitating for the treaty —groups such as Amnesty International, Oxfam, and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA)— is geared toward constraining the freedoms of countries that recognize gun rights. “And specifically, and most importantly, [to] constrain the United States,” Bolton said.

Negotiators, from abroad and within the Obama administration, view arms control as protecting human rights, rather than seeing civilian disarmament for what it is—the favorite tool of despots, dictators and tyrants to maintain power by engaging in mass murder and genocide.

And, perversely, in many instances those resisting an oppressive, genocidal regime would be held in the same light as criminals and terrorists and be legally prohibited under the ATT from purchasing weapons.

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) makes this point in a letter he drafted to President Obama: “[T]he underlying philosophy of the Arms Trade Treaty is that transfers to and from governments are presumptively legal, while transfers to non-state actors…are, at best, problematic.”

Sen. Moran’s letter, in which he is joined by other pro-gun Senators, warned that any treaty “that seeks in any way to regulate the domestic manufacture, assembly, possession, transfer, or purchase of firearms, ammunition, and related items would be completely unacceptable to us.”

U.S. freedom is clearly in the sights of the ATT. The time to take action is now, before the treaty moves into final negotiations.

ACTION: Urge your Senators to oppose any UN effort to impose restrictions on the Second Amendment, and to sign on to Sen. Moran’s letter to President Obama in opposition to the ATT.

Click here to send your Senators a prewritten message.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul

Army Corps of Engineers Land Gun Free Zones

Gun Owners of America

Washington, DC --(Ammoland.com)- Vote on Pro-gun Amendment Could Come in the House This Week

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) plans to offer an amendment this week protecting gun rights on land controlled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Currently, guns are prohibited on Corps land, even when gun possession is otherwise allowed by state law. Rep. Gosar’s legislation would simply remove federal restrictions and allow for the law of the states (in which such land is located) to govern firearms possession.

The Gosar amendment, modeled after the Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act (H.R. 1865) introduced by pro-gun Rep. Bob Gibbs (R-OH), is similar to a 2009 law repealing the gun ban on National Park Service land.

Army Corps of Engineers land was not part of that bill, something the Corps was quick to point out after that law took affect.

The Corps said, in a statement: “Public Law 111-024 does not apply to Corps projects or facilities . . . [and the Army Corps] will continue to prohibit loaded concealed weapons on Corps properties regardless of the new law and notwithstanding any contrary provisions of state law.”

The amendment will reverse the Corps’ decision and remedy the “oversight” of the lands bill.

“The Recreational Lands Self-Defense Act is a bipartisan effort that seeks to correct this oversight and restore Second Amendment rights to law-abiding citizens while they are legally camping, hunting, and fishing on the 11.7 million acres of Army Corps recreational property,” Rep. Gibbs said.

Rep. Gosar notes that “this amendment will restore continuity to federal lands and ensure that constitutional rights are consistently protected.”

Nationally, the Army Corps of Engineers controls 400 lake and river projects, 90,000 campsites and 4,000 miles of trails. A vote on the Gosar amendment could come as early as Thursday.

ACTION: Please contact your Representative and urge him or her to vote YES on the Gosar amendment.

Click here to send a prewritten message to your Representative.

About:
Gun Owners of America (GOA) is a non-profit lobbying organization formed in 1975 to preserve and defend the Second Amendment rights of gun owners. GOA sees firearms ownership as a freedom issue. `The only no comprise gun lobby in Washington’ – Ron Paul